Monthly Archives: April, 2020

A union guide to Oregon’s May 19 primary election

It's a busy ballot, and often local labor unions didn't agree on who to back. But there's no more comprehensive guide to which candidates want—and deserve—the support of union members and working people.

Back to work at Daimler

Daimler Trucks North America reopened its Swan Island Western Star truck plant April 20 with lots of measures in place to prevent COVID-19 virus.

OFNHP elects new set of leaders

Kaiser RN Jodi Barschow was elected to lead OFNHP at the head of a reform slate. Incumbent Adrienne Enghouse placed third.

City of Portland asks unions for pay freeze

Nothing has been agreed to yet, and union negotiators for the District Council of Trade Unions and Laborers Local 483 want more detail about the budget hit.

No low-road employers in PERS new ‘responsible contractor’ policy

Only contractors that provide fair wages and benefits can bid on construction and janitorial work when the pension owns majority.

STARS banquet canceled, Painters still receive bonuses they earned

Part of a program to field the best-trained workforce in the industry, Local 10 members get bonuses for skill advancement and safety classes they take.

Korean war memorial wall closer to start

The Clark County chapter of the National Korean War Veterans Association got an anonymous $5,000 donation for a “Wall of Remembrance” in Washington, D.C.

Four-year contract fight ends as Mondelēz-Nabisco struggles to keep workers on the job in the COVID crisis

The new national contract contains significant union concessions, ending the pension and giving the company the right to use temps during the COVID crisis.

Pandemic effects ripple across the construction industry

Across the building trades, opinions vary about whether to stay working or stay at home in the midst of a pandemic.

ICTSI refuses to accept $19 million from ILWU and will seek new trial

A new trial would focus only on deciding the right amount of damages, not whether ILWU was at fault in the slowdown at Terminal 6.

Union members running for office

A handful of union members are running for office on Oregon’s May 19 primary ballot, and thanks to the Oregon Labor Candidate School, they know how to campaign.

On-the-job fatalities in Oregon in 2019

Fifty-nine Oregon workers lost their lives on the job last year. Here are their names and occupations.

Lessons in a time of crisis

Oregon AFL-CIO president Graham Trainor says thinking must begin now about the plan for rebuilding our economy, communities, and workplaces in stronger, more resilient ways.

New hands at helm of nurses union

Sarah Laslett joins ONA after 17 years as a labor educator. Her priorities will be organizing, empowering stewards, and bargaining for the common good.

Jeff Merkley talks COVID-19

The U.S. Senator says even the $2 trillion package Congress just passed won't be enough to deal with the economic implosion.

Health care workers on the front lines

As hospitals prepare for an expected surge in serious respiratory illnesses from the coronavirus, medical staff are sounding the alarm.

In crisis, working people need help and benefits

Eryn Byram’s job is to help union members in need. She’s never been busier, between holding meetings for hundreds of laid-off workers and getting them aid.

Congress to the rescue

At 883 pages, the recently passed stimulus package is a complicated $2 trillion piece of legislation. Here are its key provisions.

Postal workers try to stay safe as USPS reels from dropoff in mail

USPS could run out of money by June, but Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell left it out of the just-passed stimulus bill.

Union, by the book

Elliott Bay Books in Seattle voluntarily recognized a new union March 13 — one day after employees announced they were forming it.

IATSE delivers food to out-of-work members in need

More than 200 members are out of work at Keller Auditorium, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Rose Garden Arena, Memorial Coliseum, and elsewhere.

IATSE 488 faces near total job loss

Several hundred Oregon members of IATSE Local 488 were already facing a scarcity of work. COVID-19 made matters worse, shutting down projects statewide by mid-March.